


Serious Rita Hayworth Redhead

by CondonIrish



Category: Carol (2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:40:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 3,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25332562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CondonIrish/pseuds/CondonIrish
Summary: You may remember Abby mentioning a certain redhead. Witness her journey.
Relationships: Abby Gerhard/The Redhead
Kudos: 8





	1. Paramus

The more she thought about going out there, the more it felt like worth doing. Abby Gerhard had met this Rita Hayworth red head at a dive of a bar in New York. Abby was too good for those places, but her moments of despair had led to her being there. Smoking in a room that had no roof above it, kinda like a smoking room. She had remembered seeing this flash of red in front of her eyes and the whole world vanished, for this girl was the world as far as Abby was concerned. Once she had taken notice of that red head, Abby moved close, but not too close. It was a move that she was eager to make and she offered her a light for her cigarette.  
‘Thanks’ Came the blunt response, and that was when her eyes met with Abby’s. The rest of the conversation was playful enough and they started to know each other on a first name basis by the end of the evening. Numbers were swapped and Abby was all excited about this opportunity. The odd phone conversation or two came along in the weeks that followed and by the time the red head had invited her around to her house, which happened to be in Paramus in New Jersey. It would be only their second face to face meeting, but Abby didn’t mind, for she liked taking chances and was no sweat to her. She seemed a lovely woman. She was no Carol but her relationship with her was just friendship now. She had the perfect type of car to drive there in. She got these feelings when she felt she had found the right one. That feeling was now oozing right through her as she navigated through the freeway on the way to new Jersey. A new chapter was about to begin for her. At least she hoped so.


	2. Jess

So her name was Jess and she was a vegetarian, which kinda caught Abby off guard. She’d been one since she was ten. Her father had worked in a meat carvery place and she’s been sickened by the chopping and butchering of meat there. Now Jess would always cook if she had a date and wouldn’t allow suggestions for non-vegetarian dishes. She was rather insistent on that but it didn’t bother Abby, she was open to trying new things.

Have some more fish? Jess asked Abby later that night after they had eaten a pleasant meal. Abby was full to the brink.  
No thanks, she answered back quickly. Most certainly she admired the hospitality that Jess offered, but Abby couldn’t help but feel there was a sense of slight awkwardness and not belonging in the air. Still she brushed it off as just getting used to a new person in her life.  
Jess was thin and tall with freckles and pierced ears. She spoke a lot but had issues when it came to listening. Abby felt that it would just take a bit of time to understand what Jess was like and what her personality was like.  
How about another drink then? But Abby turned her down again. I’m’, good. By now she had noticed that Jess had a bit of a tendency to drink more than what was normal, and Abby was still on her first glass. Jess had drunk five already and was acting like there was no tomorrow. When the night ended after spending all evening at the fancy apartment that Jess owned, they both decided to wait maybe a week before meeting again. To Jess this was normal, but Abby felt something was wrong here. Still she wasn’t going to make any decisions now. But could Abby have met someone who was a bit out of her league.


	3. Hitting a Nerve

Two weeks later Abby got an invite from Jess to come and see her again. She suggested hitting the town and just letting the hair down. But Abby wasn’t prepared for the reaction when she arrived at Jess’s place ten minutes late, having once again drove all the way there again from New York. Approaching her at her door she could see from her face that she wasn’t happy.

‘Where the fuck were you? Her voice sounded poisonous, like a voice that nobody would want to know.  
Sorry I was just held up and… she didn’t get to finish because Jess was charging at her verbally. No question this was an intimidating threat.  
Don’t fuck me around like that ever again, the terrifying voice knocked Abby for six. When I say be here on time, fuckin be here on time. Abby was afraid to respond to her but found the courage anyway.

Look Jess, I can’t allow you to speak to me like that. I was genially late. Cant you understand that? She expected a raging response from her but instead she simply insisted that they just get going. Clearly she wasn’t about to accept she was out of order in any sort of way. For some reason Abby didn’t challenge the issue any more and just went along with what Jess wanted. But now she felt like she was being walked all over like a mat. She suddenly felt sick.


	4. Time to Breath

Over the next few weeks Abby was struggling to decide what the future held for her and Jess. Her behaviour was extremely worrying, and her gut was telling her to end it before it got more out of hand. She’d been avoiding Jess’s calls and she was almost terrified to see her response when they would meet again. Later that day she thought about calling her to draw a line but it wasn’t something she was comfortable with. Then Abby found herself getting a phone call a short while later and was trembling as she went for the phone. Surprisingly it wasn’t Jess. It was a friend and they were in a bit of a crises. They had asked Abby for her help and of course she said yes. She wouldn’t turn someone down when they need help. As she left, Jess was at the back of her mind, almost completely forgotten. She wasn't going to risk her long time friends for someone she had just met and was very uncomfortable around. That she was so fucking sure of.


	5. Wrath

Abby was gone for 2 days and had a long journey to make. Helping friends was a sort of hobby for her. They may not of been lovers anymore but friends they would be forever. With her friend dealing with personal issues, it was down to Abby to help in any way she could. The difficulty of the journey home had Abby in despair too. So when she got home from it all, she just wanted to be alone, but instead had to put up with more trauma. Except this was unacceptable trauma. The second she had opened the door she went flying to the floor. This was because Jess had been hiding in view of her door and had pushed her when she walked in. Abby thought she was being robbed, but when she saw who it was, she wished it had been a robber. Jess had been drinking as the smell of it reeked from her.

‘What do…’ she failed to say anymore, because Jess landed a punch on her cheek, sending her down to the floor once again. She was stunned by this; she was being physical now.

‘Where the fuck were you?’ The violence in her voice was mortifying and it scared Abby to her core.

‘I had to help a goddamn friend and who are you to come into my apartment like that? You don’t own me and your crazy you know that?

But she wasn’t leaving and continued her brutal attack. By the time she left Abby was beaten and unconscious. Jess scarpered and left the door open as she went, the only thing that would alert the neighbours to the fact that something bad had happened. By the time Abby was found, Jess had smashed the back-door window on Abby’s car and recovered a shoe from the back seat. Her rage built up again before she left the scene and passed out a few streets away from the drink. In her head it was all Abby’s fault this had happened, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. But she was adamant she was right and Abby was wrong. She looked at the show she had found on the back seat and felt she had been cheating on her.


	6. Can't go on.

  
Only a day after Abby had been admitted to hospital, Jess had the nerve to try and get in to see her. ‘She has some fucking nerve coming here.’ She thought to herself. Just like Harge had the nerve to practically kick down her door in the middle of the night after he had tried to destroy Carol. When Jess eventually got in, she acted like nothing had happened and it wouldn’t have surprised Abby if Jess had got it in her head that hadn’t been responsible. Still she couldn’t escape her wrath even in the hospital. 

‘You shouldn’t be here Jess, I don’t want to see you.’  
Jess was quick to respond. ‘Please Abby, I’m very sorry, I didn’t mean it, I just thought you were seeing someone else. I’ll never do anything like that again. Come on we can make it right, you know it.’  
Now she had resorted to pleading and Abby found it pathetic. She knew deep inside she wasn’t the type of women to put up with people like this. She was a proud person, still Jess was taking that away from her. Abby spoke up. ‘Listen to me now. This can’t go on, when I met you I never imagined in my wildest dreams you’d be like this. You have anger problems and a vicious tongue. You frighten me and no one should have to put up with a person like that. If you think you can change, don’t tell me, show me. But I’m afraid until then you need to stay away from me. If you can’t accept my terms, then fine we’ll end things now. It’s up to you.’  
Any further attempt by Jess to get Abby to change her mind fell on deaf ears. This left her with no option but to leave. After she had gone, Abby took a deep breath and her head felt clear for the first time in quite a while. Maybe she had finally got control of the situation. The doctor was going to keep her in for a couple more days. She still had a concussion and the odd spell of double vision. The police had come to see her and ask about what had happened to here. But she kept her silence, even if Jess didn’t deserve Abby’s silence. Instead she felt broken and traumatised that this had happened to her. Not telling anyone was her way of not making this other people’s problem. Sadly that wasn’t the way to go about a situation like this. Her luck had been terrible, but she was going to be a stronger person from now on. Even if it would frighten Jess, she was done being walked all over. But still it wasn’t all down to her. Jess still had to do her part. Somehow she didn't feel she would have any intention of doing it.


	7. A painful reality

  
When those few days went by and Abby was allowed to go home, she decided to make her own way home. She’d been advised not to do that, but she had made her mind up. After days in bed she just wanted to stretch her legs and suck in some fresh air. Taking the stairs to the parking lot, which led out onto the street. Abby walked calmly through the busy New York streets with her mind going over all that had happened. It took her half an hour to get back home and she rushed to her front door. Pulling out her key and suddenly she got the sense behind her. 

‘Jess no…’ She panicked straight away as this horrible person attacked her again. To make it worse it was happening in the same place as it happened last time. But this time Jess had a worse punishment for Abby. She tore into her with pure venom and was whipping her with what appeared to be belt. The pain was horrendous, and Abby was trying to get Jess’s attention, but she was locked in her own world of violent control. As she brutalised her, she kept shouting the same phrase over and over again. ‘You never talk to me like that, you never talk to me like that.’ She must have said it ten times in a row. Five minutes later she was out the door again and left Abby once again battered and bruised on the floor where she had entered the house. Only this time she hadn’t lost consciousness. All she could manage to do when Jess had gone was to crawl to her door and lock it. She then crawled up in a ball on the floor and cried for an eternity.


	8. Seeking Out

Her life was like a hermit now and it was a living nightmare. She had a neighbour who was clearly concerned for her. When she knocked on the door four days after Jess’s last attack, Abby was reluctant to open it. The neighbour’s name was Lisa and Abby had always noticed her as a truly kind and caring person.

She knocked again. ‘Abby it’s Lisa, are you ok?’ Once more Abby hesitated. She barely managed an answer.

‘Now isn’t a good time Lisa, her voice trembling with fear and tears.

‘Can you open up please? We need to talk.’ It didn’t take a genius to work out that she knew what was happening.

‘I’m about to head out myself.’ Abby lied. But she couldn’t pull the wool over anymore.

‘I’m afraid I’m not leaving until you open the door sweetie.’

She knew the whole story and had maybe even seen it herself, but figured she only suspected it as she would have been over immediately if she knew she had been beaten. But Abby was still afraid to venture outside, though it was only because she didn’t know how to explain this to anyone. But Lisa knew and it took a weight off her shoulders. Deciding she needed to seek help, Abby mustered up the courage and flung the door open before running to Lisa like she was her guardian angel. Lisa took her in her arms and became her rock. Despite never having discussed anything too serious over the couple of months they’d been neighbours. It felt like a cure for poor Abby who had never been more lost or afraid in her entire life. Luckily now she wasn’t alone anymore. Now things were looking a little brighter than they had been just minutes earlier.


	9. NO

By the time Jess had the nerve once again to rear her head, Abby had Lisa on her side this time. It wasn’t going to get violent and if anyone was going to the hospital this time, it was going to be Jess. Abby had moved into Lisa’s house for protection and company. Then later that day Jess showed up in all her nerve and made straight for Abby’s front door. Abby herself spotted her from the window of Lisa’s apartment and got nervous. The banging that Jess produced on the door once again was horrifying to hear and Abby walked outside to confront her fear. Meanwhile Jess got fired up when no one answered the door and she started jumping to all sorts of conclusions.

‘Who the fuck do you think you are coming around here like this again?’ yelled a raging Abby. Jess was caught off guard as she didn’t expect her to come from another direction and certainly didn’t expect her to be the angry one.  
She quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out the shoe that she had taken from Abby’s car.  
‘So you’re cheating are ya?’ Think you’re getting away with that?’ ‘Who’s this belong to?’ Jess’ appalling attitude stank the place out and Abby was disgusted. Not wasting any more time Abby began her fightback against this abuser.

‘We’re not even a couple Jess, we never were. It was just a few dates to see what would happen next and before we could even make things proper you were attacking me. That shoe belongs to someone I know and she needed my help, not that you would know anything about that.  
This took Jess by surprise and then she swung at Abby, but Abby was ready and dodged it. Then she brought her left hand up and whacked it across Jess’s face and sent her down in a heap.  
‘This stops now and no I don’t wanna be around you anymore. You’re abuse is finished and any control you had over me is finished. Don’t like it, don’t care. Now fuck off Jess and get some help because you sure as shit need it. If you ever show your face here again, you’ll be sorry and I swear on that.’

For a moment Jess was silent, but then attempted to speak but Abby cut her off again.

‘I SAID NO.’  
Abby turned her heal and went back into Lisa’s house where she was waiting for her. Jess knew her power was gone and knowing she could pay dearly for what she had already done, she decided to leave. Reality had set in for her now.

Back in the house Abby and Lisa hugged and cherished Abby’s victory. The victim had won, except she was no longer the victim.


	10. Clear

From that moment on, Abby and Lisa became great friends because of Lisa’s caring ways towards her. She had saved her from a truly nasty hell, one that didn’t look like ending at one point. Somehow Abby had forgotten how well others could spot distress in people, it wouldn’t be something she would ever forget again. With things looking brighter now since Jess had been sent packing for good, Abby was able to become her usual self again. That included being fun, witty, and just that person that would help out another in need. For a short while she felt a little afraid to venture into the world again, she’d hardly seen anyone during her few weeks of torment. But she soon decided she was done hiding and eventually she and Lisa had their first proper night out together.  
And it was damn well earned.


	11. A Month Later

It was Carol’s birthday and she was having a meal out to celebrate it. Abby and Lisa weren’t becoming a couple but just good friends. A busy Friday night in Carol’s favourite Italian restaurant had Abby, Lisa, Carol, Therese and Rindy. Carol chose not to have Rindy babysat and wanted her there too. This was for everyone Carol cared about. Things were still unsteady between her and Harge, but they would fix it in time hopefully.

‘Carol this is my neighbour Lisa.’ Abby said introducing her new friend to her oldest friend.

‘Very nice to meet you Lisa, and this is Therese my partner. It’s so nice of you to come. I love meeting friends of friends.’

Carol smiled warmly at them both.

‘Well it’s very nice to meet you too and thanks for inviting me along.’ Lisa acknowledged.

‘Anytime.’

As they were preparing to sit down, Lisa leaned in towards Abby. She carefully whispered to her.

‘If you want to mention what happened with Jess, I can help you with it.’

Abby thought for a moment then replied to Lisa’s suggestion.

I’m not ashamed one bit, but in time I will tell Carol what happened.’ 

Lisa understood. As she always did.

‘Of course.’

Everyone was ready to order and Carol summoned the waiter to their table. Just then Abby remembered something and reached into her bag.

‘By the way Therese, I think I have something of yours.’

Therese looked up curiously and smiled as Abby presented her with her shoe.

‘Oh Abby thank you, I’ve been looking everywhere for that. Therese smiled happily and took it from her.

‘You must have dropped it in my car when I drove home a couple of months ago.’

‘Thank you.’ Therese replied as the waiter arrived at their table.

‘So ladies, what are we having tonight?’ said the waiter.

‘Angel how could not notice you were missing a shoe that night?’ A bemused Carol asked her girlfriend.

Therese smiled back. ‘Because I missed you too much.’

With that they both went in for a kiss.

As they did this, Abby felt so good inside herself and thought to herself.

'That Jess wasn't my Rita Hayworth, but one day i'll find my Rita Hayworth.

With that she smiled warmly at the lovely couple in front of her.


End file.
